Tag: Movies »

Some notable players with prominent content are starting to get in to the business of making web apps in HTML5, bypassing the App Store entirely. Amazon has launched HTML5-capable versions of both their Cloud Player for music, and Cloud Reader for reading - and (more importantly for Amazon) buying - Kindle books. However, it's entirely another thing for content from large multimedia multinational conglomerates to show up in a web app form, especially considering the DRM hurdles that Netflix has had to jump through with supporting devices on Android. However, it appears as if thanks to the power of one of the biggest multinational conglomerates of all, Walmart, movies and TV shows are showing up through the browser for iPad owners.

Walmart owns the video-on-demand service VUDU, and that service has just launched the ability to view their content through the iPad's Safari browser. By visiting http://vudu.com/movies, users can immediately browse through VUDU's entire library of content. There are various trailers and previews available to sample the content available from VUDU; sadly, all content is standard definition only on iOS, and some movies are specifically unavailable on the platform. Movies and TV shows can be either rented or bought from the service, and should be available for watching across the multiple platforms that VUDU is available on. Video watching is available in full-screen, but it does not appear to support AirPlay as of this time.

It does seem as if the web app revolution will be launched by big companies who don't want to be pushed around by Apple and their restrictions, especially when they have their own financial interests at heart. If Apple won't let them make money through the App Store, then they'll just find another way to leverage the millions of iOS devices out there, and if in doing so, they push into new frontiers of technology. That could ultimately be beneficial for consumers who don't have to be limited by Apple's restrictions to get the content they want. It could also benefit Apple in a way - they have been pushing HTML5 as a replacement for Flash, and with these new web apps not requiring Flash, they're only pushing their own agenda further along.

Source: MacStories

My love of movie trivia has been well documented before. Indeed Scene It? Movies 2 and MovieCat! still hold very important places on both my iPhone and iPad. So the prospect of daily and up to the minute trivia quizzes is pretty thrilling indeed.

That's exactly what Scene It? Daily sets out to do. It's a new trivia app that offers quizzes across four different categories: Movies, TV, Music and Celebrity, and promises to keep everything as up to date as possible. Right down to possibly asking questions about something that might have happened the night before!

Players from across the world can compete head to head for bragging rights and players who answer enough questions in a row gain a streak multiplier that boosts scores even further. There's even three different power-ups to use.

Scene It? Daily is available on Facebook and on its own site but of course there's an iPhone app for it which is out now for the grand price of nothing.

Seeing a movie can be a tricky experience, especially when planning with friends. What Wigglehop attempts to do is to make the experience of discovering movie times far easier.

The app starts off with looking up nearby theaters; this can either be done through Location Services or by manually entering a location. Then, theaters can be selected; yes, multiple theaters. The idea of Wigglehop is to allow for multiple choices, so decisions about movies can be made. Then the user picks any films they and their group wish to see, choosing days they want to see the movie as well. Then, times are presented, with the option to filter by morning, day, evening, and night times. Once all these are selected, the plans can be shared via Facebook, Twitter, SMS, or email.

The app is a free download, and is available as a universal app for iPhone/iPod touch and iPad.

Most come to 148apps to learn which apps to spend their hard earned dollars on. Today I’ll mix it up, because my favorite four are apps with free video content.

Crackle

Crackle, a division of Sony, adds 20 new movies and TV episodes to its app monthly. It’s 100% free and a must-have app for anyone. It’s always there for me to just whip out and watch whenever I don’t really have a preference. Some of my current favorites available are 21, The Nines, The Karate Kid I and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

SnagFilms (iPad only)

SnagFilms is an app dedicated to nothing but documentaries. While documentaries aren’t for all movie-lovers, those of us who like them will jump at the chance to have an app filled with free documentaries. The app is currently boasting over 80 films and I’m hoping for more in the future. To highlight some available, it has “A to Zeppelin” about Led Zeppelin, “Close Encounters” about the existence of aliens, “Hell on Wheels” about a group of women trying to bring back roller derby, and “MacHeads” about us Mac fanatics.

ABC Player (iPad only)

The ABC Player is a free app dedicated to catching up on various ABC shows. As far as I know, all shows available to watch on their website are accessible on the iPad app. This is an awesome app for anyone who’s a fan of at least one show on ABC. Currently, some popular shows on the app include Dancing with the Stars, Castle, Desperate Housewives, and Grey’s Anatomy.

TED

While TED talks aren’t movies or TV shows, they’re definitely free video content - arguable the best free video content available online. It’s arguable because to say otherwise would be to argue with me! I love TED talks. Basically, they are talks almost any subject imaginable delivered by field experts. Some of my favorites include one from Adam Savage (Mythbusters guy), Pattie Maes about her SixthSense device, Malcolm Gladwell about spaghetti sauce (but it’s much more general than that!), and Sal Khan about his educational video program, Khan Academy.


And it absolutely has to be noted that, we’re I living in the UK, the BBC iPlayer app would be at the top of my list for favorite free video content.

Metacritic is perhaps the single largest aggregator of "entertainment" reviews, tracking online buzz for movies, games, music, and more. Metacritic's enormous popularity is largely due to its publication of "Metascores"—a score out of 100 calculated by weighing and comparing "trustworthy" reviews of a particular item that lets readers determine the overall critical opinion of something at a quick glance.

Now, Metacritic is bringing its massive influence to the iPhone and iPad with a Movie Finder app. Movie Finder by Metacritic provides users with movies' Metascores and displays showtimes for theaters anywhere in the US. You can also stand in front of your local movie theater and launch Movie Finder to have the app tell you what shows are playing, along with their accompanying review information. Finally, the app also lets you rate a movie or email or text your friends about it.

Of the new app, Marc Doyle, Editor in Chief of Metacritic said,

"Metascores have become a trusted guide to what many decide to see. Movie Finder from Metacritic makes those decisions even easier when you're on the move."

Movie Finder by Metacritic is now available for free on the App Store.

The Hulu Blog today confirmed what many have been murmuring about online for some time. Hulu is bringing its streaming TV service to the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. The aforementioned murmurs also questioned how this delivery of most of America’s top TV shows would be paid for, they too were given an answer with the introduction of the Hulu Plus subscription.

Formerly only available via a PC or Mac, the Hulu Plus app and subscription service will combine to deliver episodes from current and classic TV shows on iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 as well as the iPad and third gen iPod touch.

At present the service is working on an invite-only basis (apply for one here) and will cost users $9.99 per month but, for this fee you do get a good deal of benefits. Full seasons of TV shows will be available including big hitters such as Family Guy, 30 Rock and The Office with up to 720p HD resolution available. Through the Hulu Plus app, users will be able to browse, search and resume playback at the same point on different devices. For iPhone and iPad users, you will even be able to stream over 3G!

While we’ve not had the chance to fully test Hulu Plus yet, this sounds like the service Apple’s portable devices have been crying out for and one that will likely bring about a few discussions inside Apple HQ. With the recent acquisition of media streaming startup Lala, it is rumored the company is gearing up to introduce a cloud-based iTunes service that could include streaming TV shows to iPhones and iPads.

The Hulu Plus app is available for free on the App Store and includes a bunch of freebies that don’t need a subscription in order to try out. The movie Super Size Me is included as well as clips and episodes from a number of TV shows as well, so it’s worth sampling the app for these bonuses alone.

Check it out on the App Store here